


The Old Gods of the Elvhen

by Spiderheart



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games)
Genre: Elvhen Gods, Elvhen Lore, Gen, The Old Gods - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 07:47:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,262
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20485361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spiderheart/pseuds/Spiderheart
Summary: I wondered what gods the Elvhen worshipped before, so I created some.





	The Old Gods of the Elvhen

**Author's Note:**

> Notes from me are in brackets, but this is largely from the perspective of some outside scholar or other. Think of it as something you might see in a worldbook or rulebook for the Thedas RPG.

A note on Elvhen gender: Elves do not have gender roles as humans and other races understand them. Elvhen have a quite variable combination and manifestation of genitalia, and can all bear and seed equally, for the most part. They recognize and describe genitalia as loosely taking three basic shapes, though there is acknowledgement that these terms are _loose_, and they do not correspond to role in society the way other races—especially humans—have them.

Leaf is the shape most humans would name a cunt, though in truth all elves possess a vagina and uterus. A leaf simply has a phallic structure that is too small to be seen outside the ‘petals’ of the labia.

Bud is a shape that most humans would consider intersex or indeterminate. In fact this is a common and normal shape for elves. The phallus may or may not be large enough to insert into a vagina, and the size at which a Bud becomes a Blossom is usually difficult to determine unless one is an elf.

Blossom is the shape most humans would consider male, though with a cunt in place of external testes. There are no elves with external testes, which makes them unique among mammals. A blossom has a phallus that can easily insert and becomes erect with bloodflow, though elves do also have a cartilaginous baculum of ambiguous practical use.

‘Noni’ is the Ancient Elvhen for a parent, which survives today in northern dialects of Elvhen, such as are spoken on the streets of Antiva and Tevinter.

Wood – The Parent Wood is Noni Of The Forest, a god in the shape of a large halla with a thousand antlers, the forest growing upon her back, and in her hoofprints grow things so fast that the eye can watch them furl. She holds the moon in her antlers when she appears. You do not want her to appear. Leaf, owing to the first things trees and sprouts put forth in her image.

Sea – The Parent Ocean is Noni Of The Salt Water, a god in the shapeless shape of the waves and whose hands are the tide, whose voice is the rumble of quakes, whose blood is the red and yellow ichor that bursts forth from the earth where it bleeds. The land is her blood and flesh. The Wood feeds upon it, but has agreed to never set into the water. The grass broke this promise and thereafter the plants of the land could not abide saltwater as punishment and vouchsafing their inability to follow the grass. Blossom, owing to the resemblance of seafoam to ejaculate, both in appearance and taste.

Rain – The Parent Rain is Noni Of The Sweet Water, a god in the bodyless form of rainsong as it falls, whose laughter is the thunder and whose arrows are the lightning as it falls to earth, bringing fire and magic into the earth. Springs are her song made into liquid, and water is what brings song to the People and animals. Without the Rain there would be no Wood. Bud, owing to the shape of water droplets in her image.

The following gods have depictions that shift much more fluidly than the three Creator gods above, who seem to be the oldest gods in the pantheon, depicted and spoken of as the First in many sources. Those below also have more personable form and relatable stories that show them interacting with Elvhen much more regularly and without awe.

Dark – The Dark is mischievous and mournful in turns, safe and soft and treacherous. He shields from danger, but can also shield those who hunt in the night. He is a trickster, a bard, and a bringer of wisdom. From the Dark is where stories of Fen’Harel stem from, though not wholly—merely that this figure was already in Elvhen lore when the Evanuris were drawing from cultural tropes to label Solas the Dread Wolf. Wolves are one of the Dark’s creatures, as are many others such as the owl, the raven, the bat, and other black or nocturnal animals, including Halla. Ancient sites suggest the Dark might have once also been a sort of lord of animals.

Sun/Moon – This is one figure, the belief is that the sun is awake and that the moon is asleep. The sun sings, the moon hums. The phases of the moon are the moon turning over in his sleep. The stars are his dreams. The Sun/Moon rules over his own realm, made from his dreams and from starlight—the Fade. He is the god of magic and dreams and, also, of death—though it is not he who guides souls to the afterlife.

The Antlered God – A figure of shifting pronouns, a psychopomp who comes and calls the True Name of the one to die, and therefore separates their soul from their body, readying it for journey into the spirit realm. This is through but it not itself the Fade. The Fade is considered a liminal space, which is why dangers and good things lurk there. But no soul should ever seek to stay in the Fade, lest the liminal space drive them to confusion and madness. For this reason, the Antlered God is appealed to when someone is afflicted by madnesses that affect one’s ability to distinguish reality from dreams [such as hallucinations, psychosis, and dissociation]. Notably, the Antlered God is also the god of the halla, and the halla are considered their agents on earth, which is why it is important to not tether or bind them, and also to attract their presence to the settlement. If there are no halla, no one can die properly, which is a scary prospect for most. Halla are also meant to act as protectors on the journey through the Fade to the afterlife. The Antlered God is also associated with rabbits and pigs, for reasons lost to time.

The Hungry One – Described only as Teeth In The Dark, the Hungry One is fear and nightmares, plague and sorrows [this includes mood disorders as well as oppression and grief]. It is not a wolf, or any known animal. In fact, a wolf should protect against the Hungry One, as a wolf is a kind of Dog. A Dog, Goat, Goose, or other guard animal is often pitted against the Hungry One in stories as the valiant hero. Oddly, an elf is never the hero, the Hungry One seems to be a figure meant to contrast the Domesticated or Tame Animal. Later stories of the Hungry One do paint it as a human however, which further cements this figure as the mythological representation of Oppression as much as the more primal fears the wild can hold. In these later stories, The Dark [usually in elf form] is often the clever hero outwitting the Hungry One’s greed and arrogance.

The Honey Giver – This is a local god, not present in areas without honeybees. Where present, the Honey Giver is a personable god of merrymaking and, most importantly, mead, with many connections to other deities that preside over drink, including fertility festivals of a raucous nature, games, sport, and mead-madness [i.e. drunkenness]. Other faces and names of the Honey Giver are the Vine Queen [in areas with grapes], Happy Barleycorn [beer and ale], and Icefire [this is unclear, but may stem from cold areas that make clear liquor, usually from tubers]. Most robust and old are the stories that associate this god with Honeybees, however, as mead has a long and ancient history as an Elvhen drink.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments? Questions? Bonus Features? Come over to [my discord](https://discord.gg/Mvygfnn)!


End file.
